 | | Senator Gary Peters expedited and secured millions in funding for PFAS cleanup at contaminated sites like the former Wurtsmith Air Force Base near Oscoda. Pictured, an Oscoda resident stands at the end of his dock. Photo © J. Carl Ganter / Circle of Blue |
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| With the U.S. Senate majority at stake in the 2020 election, nearly every race has become a battleground. That’s the case in Michigan, where incumbent Democrat Gary Peters is being challenged by Republican John James.
While Covid and the economy dominate debates, water is also a defining issue for a state surrounded by the Great Lakes and beset by aging infrastructure and chemical contamination of its lakes, streams, and groundwater. |
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 | | The fact is that in the countries of Central Asia, including Tajikistan, women are mainly engaged in the transportation of water. And every day young women and girls are forced to queue for hours in front of manual water taps, or cisterns, to get water. Photo © Azad Aybek 2020 |
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| On New Year’s Eve 2019, Tayyib Safarov, a resident of Somoniyon, Tajikistan, a small village along the Kyrgyzstan border, went to collect water for her family. On route, she was shot dead.
The shot was fired from the house of a resident in the village of Kok-Tash Batken, on the Kyrgyzstan side of the border, according to a spokesperson for the local mayor’s office.
No one has been arrested in Safarov’s death, but locals like Umedi Jahon believe she lost her life because of ongoing conflict over water access between the neighboring villages. Many Tajik residents lack proper access to clean water. They, like Safarov, travel great lengths – even crossing borders each day – to collect the water they need for cooking and cleaning.
This article was developed with the support of the Money Trail Project. |
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A proposal by Kurdistan officials to build dozens of dams as a response to water insecurity has caused concern in Iraq. |
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What's Up With Water - October 26, 2020
For the news you need to start the week, tune into “What’s Up With Water” fresh on Monday’s on iTunes, Spotify, iHeart Radio, and SoundCloud.
This week's episode features coverage on a year-long investigation by the French media organization Disclose, which uncovered a number of environmental and public health concerns at the country’s largest dairy producer, Lactalis.
In science news, researchers from a university in the Netherlands are investigating a curious phenomenon that has puzzled scientists: why some glaciers in southern Asia are stable or growing.
For news in the U.S., in the state of Georgia, the Twin Pine Minerals mining company is proceeding with plans to dig near the Okefenokee Swamp wildlife refuge.
This week Circle of Blue assesses how the first term of the Trump administration has affected water in the United States. You can listen to the latest edition of What's Up With Water, as well as all past editions, by downloading the podcasts on iTunes, following Circle of Blue on Spotify, following on iHeart Radio, and subscribing on SoundCloud. |
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| From Circle of Blue's Archives: |
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 | | The Wekiva River, in central Florida. Voters in Orange County will decide whether to grant the river and other waterways in the county legal rights. Photo courtesy of Flickr / Creative Commons user Rain0975 |
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| The main event on November 3 is the presidential contest, Trump v. Biden.
The outcome of that race will influence the direction of national water policy.
Down the ballot there is action of a different sort. A hodgepodge of constitutional amendments and ballot measures seek to move water policy at the state and local level.
Voters in a county in central Florida, for instance, will determine whether the county’s rivers have legal rights.
What other questions are on the ballot? |
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